Hosseini joins M&S from WPP’s media investment company GroupM, where he was vice-president for data science and product on the firm’s mPlatform. He has previously worked at Microsoft Research, Sky and Cambridge University.

In the newly created role, Hosseini is responsible for leading and growing a new data science team, with M&S planning to recruit up to 20 new hires in this team.

Hosseini will report to chief digital and data officer Jeremy Pee, who joined the brand in September 2018 to lead digital transformation efforts.

Pee said: “Becoming a digital first business is core to our transformation and as part of this we are looking to build a new, world-class, data science capability that can be deployed to create value across the business. I am delighted that Mehdi, who comes with extensive experience, has joined M&S to build and scale this new team.”